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FMCSA Shuts Down 52 Unsafe Bus Companies

Officials
with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced today
that they shut down 52 unsafe bus companies and took 340 vehicles off the road
in a coordinated action called Operation Quick Strike. The action shut down
some of the most at-risk bus companies in the country in 22 states and the
District of Columbia. Operation Quick Strike was the result of an eight-month
investigation based on safety statistics and roadside inspection.

The
announcement of the action comes weeks after the National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) called into question the FMCSA's ability to keep dangerous bus
operators off the road, citing recent crashes involving bus companies that had
a history of demonstrating poor safety standards. "While FMCSA deserves
recognition for putting bad operators out of business, they need to crack down
before crashes occur, not just after high-visibility events," said NTSB
chair Deborah Hersman in a statement last month.

Two
of the 52 bus operators to be shut down in the U.S. were Mi Joo Tour &
Travel and Scapadas Magicas. Mi Joo Tour & Travel was the bus company
involved in a December 2012 crash in Oregon that killed nine people and injured
39 others. Investigators found that the driver of the Mi Joo bus had worked far
more hours than allowable by law. Scapadas Magicas was involved in a California
accident in February 2013 that left eight people dead and dozens of other
people injured. In that crash, investigators found glaring examples in which
Scapadas Magicas failed to maintain their buses and ensure that all their
drivers were licensed.

In
addition to shutting down dangerous bus operators, the FMCSA inspected over
1,300 vehicles and took 340 off the road for maintenance and safety violations.
Inspectors also investigated over 1,300 bus companies that had either a limited
inspection history or no inspection history at all. Out of those, 240 will
continue to be investigated, according to CNN.

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